Scott Matthews

Raymond William Gage III, a longtime resident of Fort Lauderdale and a senior at the University of North Florida, was killed in a motorcycle accident in Jacksonville last week. He was 25. "He was brilliant," said Mr. Gage`s father, Raymond W. Gage II of Sea Ranch Lakes. "Trey" Gage had invented many things and had filed patent applications on several of them. He kept a book of notes and one of the last devices he had been working on was a turbine design for a hydroelectric system that would use the tidal flow into the St. Johns River.

Raymond William Gage III, a longtime resident of Fort Lauderdale and a senior at the University of North Florida, was killed in a motorcycle accident in Jacksonville last week. He was 25. "He was brilliant," said Mr. Gage`s father, Raymond W. Gage II of Sea Ranch Lakes. "Trey" Gage had invented many things and had filed patent applications on several of them. He kept a book of notes and one of the last devices he had been working on was a turbine design for a hydroelectric system that would use the tidal flow into the St. Johns River.

Jim Vance breezed into the Lemonade Lounge on Wednesday night with a stunned look on his face, amazed at what he had just found: front-row parking at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on the day before Thanksgiving. "It`s dead!" he said to bartender Lynette Johnson. Though Wednesday was the traditional opening day of a monthlong holiday travel orgy, most of Fort Lauderdale`s airport maintained the somnolent air of a Christian Science reading room. Business was steady but far from overwhelming, airport workers agreed.

Are traffic regulations enforced in South Florida? Is anything being done to curb blatant running of red lights? I am visiting family in Fort Lauderdale and live in Charlotte, N.C. We in Charlotte experienced a dramatic increase in erratic and aggressive driving over the past several years. Our major problem was running red lights. Many people have been injured and killed due to this disregard of traffic regulations. During my brief stay in South Florida, I have witnessed countless drivers entering an intersection at a high speed well after the light signaled red. Charlotte identified its 10 worst intersections.

Dennis Tibstra had been in this situation before and something always happened. Something bad. He would have a marlin on and a line would break. Or a rod. Or the leader would somehow come loose. Or the reel would strip. Not Friday. "We were just about to turn around," Tibstra said. He, Don Brooks and Scott Matthews had started out on Tibstra's boat Tibby at 8 a.m. from Boca Bayou, at Boca Raton's south end, and hadn't had any luck. "We caught one dolphin on the way out at 600 feet," Tibstra said.

Florida Power & Light Co. is demanding an extra deposit from County Insulators because the company pays its bill late. "It`s comical," said Scott Matthews, president of County Insulators. "They owe us $300,000 and they`re threatening to shut our electricity off." County Insulators, one of the largest contractors in FPL`s "Watt-Wise" energy conservation program, says it is forced to pay its bill late because the Miami-based utility owes it so much money. In the Watt-Wise programs, 4,349 outside contractors are licensed by FPL to caulk, weatherstrip, replace showerheads and faucets, install more efficient heating and cooling systems, insulate ceilings and apply solar window film.

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Florida coach Steve Spurrier could not find the words to describe what happened to Shane Matthews on Thursday night at Scott Field. Matthews could. "I stunk," said Matthews, whose career-high five interceptions helped Mississippi State trounce the Gators 30-6. "It`s the worst I`ve ever played. It`s a total embarrassment. "This was just stupidity on my part. I was taught to do better than that." For more than two years, Matthews had been looking forward to this game; to returning to his home state for the first time to play in front of family and friends.

Marcia Calandra set a record in the 1992 Metropolitan South Florida Fishing Tournament with 100 tarpon releases. This year she thought it would be nice to beat that mark. She demolished it. Calandra, of Miramar, caught and released 220 tarpon during the 1996 MET, which began Dec. 9 and ended Sunday. "I'm thrilled. It's just unbelievable to catch that many," said Calandra, 49, who fished with her husband, Tom, on their boat T&M's Dusky. "When we passed 100, I said to Tom, `Let's try for 150.' When we got there, I said, `Let's go for 200."

Stefan Laursen, with a borrowed bike and shoes and a strained Achilles' tendon, still won Sunday's Boca Raton-based Coca-Cola Classic Triathlon at Siesta Key Beach Park in Lakeland. Laursen, 29, of Delray Beach won his fourth consecutive triathlon, in 56 minutes and 48 seconds. The course was a half-mile swim, 11-mile bike and 3.1-mile run. Kasey Carroll-Basso, 29, of Lutz won the women's title in 1:00.34. Racheal Wood, 37, of Deerfield Beach was fifth. Laursen had returned home from Lake Tahoe late Saturday after a six-hour layover in Houston because of bad weather.

Even at half-speed, Ronnie Holassie is good enough to win. The 1996 Olympic marathoner from Trinidad & Tobago won the Pines 200 Classic Saturday. Holassie, 28, of Miami ran the 3.1-mile wet course in 14 minutes and 46 seconds. He averaged 4:46-minute miles and won $500 in the South Florida season-opener. Former University of Miami and Deerfield Beach runner Chris Miller, 23, of Deerfield Beach was runner-up in 15:19. Two-time South Florida Grand Prix winner Andrew Greenidge, 34, of Coconut Creek was third in 16:04.